Brink of insanity
by Celestelle
Summary: Hazel Diggory has suffered from excruciating and agonizingly painful seizures which unfortunately include terrifying and tormenting hallucinations that drive her to the brink of insanity. Will she be able to handle a late start to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy and possibly develop a social life or will her illness afflict her life once more? (George Weasley Love Story!)
1. Chapter 1

"Hazel!" Dad shouts. I sit up abruptly, reluctantly set down the book I was currently reading and glance at Cherry. She is my best friend, despite being a mouse. Cherry has been a constant source of comfort and companionship for practically all of my life and my life... it hasn't exactly been easy. From an incredibly young age - basically for as long as I could remember, I've been tormented by a series of terrifying hallucinations and during this that have caused ridiculously high amounts of magic to spark off me. Dangerous amounts. So dangerous, that I had to be completely isolated during them. Saint Mungo's Hospital were at a loss for words and they were unable to diagnose my condition. They couldn't even find a cure or even something to loosen my pain or dilute the amount of magic that sparks in jagged bolts out of my body. My parents had to adapt... and they struggled doing so. I made their simple and rather care free lives difficult. These moments were far worse for me than anybody else. Nobody else could even imagine how excruciating and agonizing they are. It was pure hell to feel magic burning through your body and tearing outwards. The hallucinations... they're far worse. They torment and terrorize me to the point of insanity. I fail to comprehend what any of them mean. They certainly confuse me something rotten.

"What do you think he wants?" I inquire in a curious demeanor.

"I don't know..." Cherry mumbles, still clearly fixated on the nut that she was currently eating. I roll my eyes at her. When Saint Mungo's informed my Mum and Dad that I was to be confined to the house and that I couldn't attend school because of my potentially dangerous magic when I went through a faze, Mum had realized how lonely I'd become and bought me a Yu-Jin mouse. They're a magical Japanese breed of mice that have the ability to understand their owner... basically the one that they're loyal to. So I can easily communicate with Burakku but I can't talk to any other animal. She can't understand any other human... but me.

I stumble down the staircase and open the door to see what exactly he wants.

"Hazel..." Dad says slowly, as if he doesn't quite know what to say.

"Yes?" I respond, rather mystified by his aberrant manner. He is usually a very straight forward person.

"I noticed that you haven't had one of your... moments... recently." he says delicately.

I nod slowly, intrigued as to where he is going with this.

"I talked to Doctor McKenna at Saint Mungo's Hospital today and she said... she said that according to your report... your condition is starting to stabilize. So basically she said that you could start attending Hogwarts!

I gasp, clearly astonished.

"Are you really being serious?"

Dad looks amused.

"C'mon, Hazel." he says. "I know how long you've been waiting to go there! Why would I joke about something like that!?"

I resist the urge to scream. Or dance. Or jump up and down like a kangaroo or some other type of bouncy animal. Instead, I settle for throwing my arms around Dad in my bliss.

"Thank you!" I say, my voice completely filled with emotion. "I really can't thank you enough!"

"Awh... You deserve to go, Hazel!" says Dad, equally emotional "Doctor McKenna thought that it would be good for you to make some friends and start to develop a social life. It's not exactly healthy being cooped up in here practically every day. Of course... if you start experiencing any symptoms of an attack then you must talk to Professor Dumbledore immediately! He'll send you home until you're well enough to come back."

"Mhm... Yeah... I LOVE YOU, DAD!" I holler in a wild torrent.

I bound up the staircase and burst into Cedric's room who is currently fixing his hair in front of the mirror... Typical. I suppose that's how he gets all of the girls at that place to swoon over him.

"Cedric! I'm going to Hogwarts! Can you believe it!? I'm going to Hogwarts!" I lament.

"Really?" he gasped, utterly shocked and completely failing to notice that one piece of his hair was still sticking up at an awkward angle.

"Yep!" I say eagerly.

"That's brilliant, Hazel! What house do you think you'll be in?"

"No idea." I say airily. "It's usually down to your family... isn't it? But our family has been quite a mix."

"Yeah." Cedric responds. "Mum was in Ravenclaw and Dad was in Hufflepuff. Apparently Uncle Tony was a Slytherin! You'll probably be in Hufflepuff."

"Probably. That's the house that you're in. Isn't it?"

"Yeah..." says Cedric absently. "A lot of people think that we're a load of old idiots. We're not! We're just really nice people!"

"Hufflepuff sounds awesome!" I say with a grin. "So does Gryffindor. Slytherin though... Ew... I'd kill myself if I got put in there! Anyway... It starts in about two weeks doesn't it? I'm more than ready to go. You won't believe how bored I've been being stuck at home being tutored instead of going to Hogwarts with you. Cherry's awesome but I really wanna make some more friends!

"It must be hard..." says Cedric sympathetically. "You'll have a lot of stuff to buy. We're going to Diagon Alley next Wednesday. That's a week after the Quidditch World Cup!"

Ah... The Quidditch World Cup... How could I forget? It'd been all that Dad and Cedric had been talking about for the past month! When Dad had first bought the tickets, I'd been just as excited and exhilarated as everyone else but now the subject bored me. Don't get me wrong... I do love Quidditch but I was sick of hearing about the Irish's new Firebolts or whether Viktor Krum had managed to perfect his Wronski Feint.

"I can't wait!" I sing, darting up my little staircase leading up to my room and opening the door.

"Cherry? Cherry! Guess what!? I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"So I heard." she says wryly. "I could easily hear you from all the way up here!"

I grin and scoop her up off of my desk.

"Do you reckon there'll be any good looking mice there... for me?" she attempts to look disinterested but I can tell that she clearly isn't. I know her too well.

"Maybe..." I grin. "Do you think there'll be any good looking... boys?"

"No doubt about it!"

"We're going to get my supplies on Wednesday... y'know." I say.

"Mhm... You're not getting another pet, are you!?"

"Yeah..." I tease her. "I was thinking of getting a nice cat... preferably one that likes to eat little Yu-Jin such as yourself."

"Hey!" she says indignantly. "That's not very nice."

"I was just teasing!" I protest, giving her a playful poke. "I would never replace you and you know that! I'll borrow Cedric's owl for deliveries and that'll be it!"

"Good!" she huffs.

"Anyway... change of topic. Do you think you'll enjoy Hogwarts?"

"It would be interesting to have such a big building to explore... but I think I'll miss this room." she says, nibbling on her tail.

I look around the small attic and I realize that she's right. I've spent most of my life here and I have grown rather fond of my bedroom. It's an interesting little room with slanted walls and windows with rather extraordinary views. If I crane my neck then I can almost see the sea! I can definitely say that I'm going to miss it.

"We'll be back here every summer!" I reassure her. "Christmas and Easter too!"

She nods solemnly and jumps of my hand in an acrobatic fashion to the end of my pillow.

"I'm exhausted." she murmurs, curling up into a fetal position. "Good night, Hazel!"

"I might as well go to sleep too... seeing as it's the Quidditch World Cup tomorrow. Good night, Cherry!"

As I wrap my duvet around my body, I wonder what tomorrow would bring. Dad said that we would be travelling with the Weasley family. Four of the Weasley children currently attend Hogwarts. Hm... Apparently there are twins that will be in my year. I wonder if they're good looking? Yes... I'm a teenager. Despite being quite abnormal, I do think things that other girls my age do. I turn over into a more comfortable position and gradually fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"How much further?" I ask blearily. We've been up since 4 O'clock in the morning and I'm not exactly what you'd call a morning person. A Quidditch match is fun to watch but I'm not prepared to make such a big commitment and sacrifice my beauty sleep for this.

"Not long now!" Dad says in his usual cheery manner. I let out a sleepy groan and scramble up a tree. Tree climbing has always been a hobby of mine, especially as I have rather a lot of spare time on my hands. Cedric grins and pulls himself up alongside me. I remember when we used to play silly little games together and we pretended that we were monkeys. Ah... good times.

"Will you stop swinging your bag so violently!" Cherry complains. "I'm trying to sleep here!"

"You'll just have to stay awake then!" I mutter.

"Excuse me? It's 4 O'clock!" says Cherry.

"I'm glad you finally understand how I feel!" I retort.

I hear her mutter faintly under her breath but she stays relatively silent.

I skim further up the tree and make a rather daring leap to an adjacent branch.

"Arthur!" I hear Dad declare. "It's about time!" I cringe at his undisguised bluntness.

"Sorry, Amos." says Arthur apologetically.

Cedric leaps from his branch and lands gracefully in an almost cat like way. I attempt to mimic him but somehow end up flat on my back.

Great way to make a first impression.

"Are you trying to kill me, woman!?" Cherry shrieks from within her confinement of my bag. I ignore her and look up slowly as an incredibly handsome and quite mischievous looking boy leans over me. He has flaming red hair and freckles dotted attractively across his nose. He stretches out a hand.

"Are you okay?" he says, grinning like a hyena. "Did you intentionally jump or did you simply fall..?"

"I... uhm... I guess I tried to look cool." I confess. "But I ended up flat on my back. I never quite got the hang of landing properly."

He raises an eyebrow. "I see."

I feel my cheeks burn. The first time in ages I see somebody good looking and I have to make a complete fool of myself. He evidently notices me blushing and his smirk, if possible, got wider.

"I'm George." he says, abruptly changing the subject. "George Weasley. Pleasure to meet you, Miss..?"

"Hazel," I mumble. "Hazel Diggory."

"Nice." he says. "You're Cedric's sister, aren't you?"

"Well spotted." I say with a grin.

"I've never seen you around before... how old are you?"

"Uh... 17 in December..." I say reluctantly, not exactly comfortable in where this conversation is going.

"You're in my year then! I presume that you attend either Beauxbatons or Durmstrang."

"Not exactly. It's kind of a long story."

"Mm... yeah. He says, moving the conversation back into safer grounds. "That's my identical twin over there. His name is Fred."

"Really?" I say sarcastically. "You should have told me sooner! I would have never of guessed!"

He rolls his eyes as Fred walks over.

"Hey George... made a new girlfriend, I see?"

George's face turns bright red, clashing horribly with his hair.

"No... I'm not." he protests.

"Mm... keep thinking that..." Fred says casually. "I'm Fred Weasley. I'm the better looking twin. Obviously."

"Sure..." I say. George mocks being hurt. I laugh at his expression.

"Come on, everyone!" Dad and Mr Weasley say in unison.

I glance around at everyone. There's a few more Weasleys and a girl who looks a little younger than me with bushy brown hair. Standing next to her is unmistakably... Harry Potter. I try not to stare too hard. After all, he probably gets way more attention than he wants.

Once we reach the Portkey (Which takes the form of a boot), Dad and Mr Weasley come to an abrupt halt.

"Everyone, gather round!" hollers Mr Weasley. I swiftly grab hold of the toe of the boot.

"Why are we all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry enquires, clearly disconcerted.

"Just grab hold!" Dad shouts and Harry just about manages to grab hold before it takes off.

I've never really traveled by Portkey and I don't really plan on doing it again anytime soon. I feel pathetically dizzy as constant waves of nausea wash over me as it continues to spin in a sickening way.

"Let go!" Dad suddenly demands.

"What?" shrieks the girl who's name turns out to be Hermione.

By her incredulous tone, I instantly comprehend that she's not really familiar with this form of transport.

"Let go!" Dad repeats. I let go and manage to remain airborne for a few moments before tumbling to the ground like a puppet who's strings had been broken.

"Never... again..." Cherry whispers. She crawls out of my bag and into my hand.

"We still have to use it to get home, you know." I warn her. She groans, clearly aggravated.

"What a cute mouse!" George declares, coming over. "Awh! Freddie look! A little mouse."

"Ugh... why do people have to be so patronizing?" Cherry complains as George simpers at her. I shrug but I start to blush as George starts smirking at me. Cherry looks from me to George, clearly noticing something.

"You like him don't you?" she challenges.

"No..." I mumble

"Yes you do! Don't deny it!" she says, smirking devilishly. As devilishly as a mouse could be.

"Ugh... shut up!" I moan.

"Excuse me?" George raises an eyebrow. Oh no! Did I really just say that out loud?

"Sorry... I wasn't talking to you... I was talking to my mouse." I protest.

"Your mouse..?" he says as if looking for further explanation.

"Uhm yeah... She's a Yu-Jin mouse."

George whistles under his breath, clearly impressed.

"I've heard about those!" he says. "They're meant to be really rare."

"I guess." I say. "I don't know what I would do without Cherry. She's been my friend for practically all of my life. I would have gone truly mad without her, being cooped up inside all day with nobody for company."

"Huh?" says George confused "How come you've been cooped up inside all day?"

"I'll... uh... tell you later."

Once we arrive at the campsite, Dad and Mr Weasley pay the owner. Or at least they try to. Poor Mr Weasley clearly tried his best but Muggle money is confusing at the best of times.

"Here... let me help." Harry offers.

After we've paid, we trek through the countless tents until we finally reach ours. I race towards the girl's tent and set my bag down upon my bed.

"Hi... I'm Hermione Granger." says the girl shyly, setting her bag on the bed next to mine.

"Hey... I'm Hazel Diggory." I say, eager to make friends.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" she enquires. "I don't think I've seen you around before.

"Uhm... nope. But I will be starting after summer" I declare.

"Great!" she says grinning. "How old are you?"

"16," I answer, knowing that the question was coming.

"Then how come you're starting school so late?"

I hesitate. I've only known her for half a day but I really feel as if I could trust her. So I decide to tell her.

"Do you promise not to tell anybody?" I whisper. "It's really private."

"I promise." she says solemnly.

"I have this condition," I start. "It doesn't have a name... I haven't been diagnosed. Basically, every few months I go through a phase where I start having hallucinations. Like really terrifying hallucinations! Much worse than your standard nightmare. I see things so morbid and grotesque that I often need therapy after it. The therapy makes me think less of it. But I still feel as if they have a meaning behind them... that they're either going to happen or that they've already happened. I'm not really sure. During these hallucinations, my magic sparks wildly out of control. Like really badly. I'm way too dangerous to be around anybody during these periods. One bolt of lightning that comes off my body is strong enough to kill 1,000 people! It's definitely not genetic and nobody knows what has caused it. Nobody knows what it is! However, my condition is starting to stabilize and my healer told me that I could attend Hogwarts but as a precaution, go straight to Professor Dumbledore if I start experiencing any symptoms of a hallucination."

Hermione gasped. "Hazel! I'm so sorry you have to put up with this! It must be terrible."

I nod. "I'm pretty much house bound because of it. Well... I was."

"I'm glad that it's getting better though!" she said kindly.

"Hermione..." I start. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I promise!" she declares. "Come on! The Match is going to start soon."

I grin as a sudden rush of exhilaration rushes through me. Despite my frequent complaints about having to wake up early because of it, I am genuinely excited for the Quidditch World Cup!


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow! How up are we?" I muse as we trek up yet another flight of stairs.

"Well... put it this way." I hear a snide voice say below. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know."

I glance down to see a blonde and rather forbidding looking man accompanied by his son. I can already tell that he is a complete git.

"Father and I are in the Minister's box!" His son declares smugly. "We've been invited by Cornelius Fudge himself!"

I roll my eyes at his blunt cockiness and generally annoying aura. I already have an uncontrollable urge to punch him.

His father whacks his cane against the railing.

"Do enjoy yourself... while you can." he says, mainly to Harry. Is it just me or does it sound as if he's planning something?

"Who on earth was that?" I ask Hermione as we turn to venture further up towards our seats.

"Oh... them..." spat Hermione. It's evident in her tone that she clearly despises them. "That's just Malfoy and his dad. Malfoy goes to Hogwarts too and he's a nasty piece of work."

"Brilliant." I say facetiously. "Is he in my year?"

"Luckily for you... no." she says somewhat enviously. "But unluckily for me... yes."

As we pass a snack stall, Cherry pops her head eagerly out of my bag and gives me a look to suggest that she's on the verge of starving to death.

"Wow... Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!" she declares. "We love those... don't we?"

I roll my eyes at her. She's never exactly been a subtle mouse.

"Fine," I mumble, digging through my purse for some Silver Sickles. "Two bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, please."

As I receive my change, Hermione notices Cherry. Who happens to be practically falling out of my bag in her evident joy for food.

"Awh! What a cute mouse!" she squeals.

"Why does everyone think I'm cute? I guess nobody can resist my charm..." Cherry says. If she had had hair then I would be certain that she would be tossing it out of her eyes. She's quite a vain mouse. That would explain why she spends a lot of her time admiring herself in my mirror.

"Thanks." I grin. "She's a Yu-Jin mouse."

"I've heard about those!" Hermione exclaims. "They're meant to be really rare!"

"Yeah..." I say. "Mum noticed that I was lonely and bought me one. She's called Cherry. She's a Japanese breed of mouse so I decided to give her a Japanese name."

Once we arrive at our specified seats, Hermione introduces me to Harry and Ron.

"This is Hazel. She's Cedric's sister" she says.

"Hi," I smile, eager to make friends.

"Hey... I'm Harry." Harry seemed a little shy but a genuinely nice person.

"I'm Ron." says Ron, currently stuffing his face with food. I can tell that him and Cherry are going to get along well.

"Do you go to Hogwarts? I don't think I've seen you around before." says Harry.

"Um... I'm a transfer. From... Beauxbatons." I lie quickly.

"How come you decided to change?" enquires Ron.

"I... uh... couldn't speak French very well." I mutter. Hermione shakes her head at my lame excuse but Harry and Ron seem to believe it easily enough.

I tear open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Cherry scrambles onto my lap to share.

"Cute mouse." Harry remarks. "What's his name?"

"It's a she... actually." I grin, knowing that Burakku will be offended. "Her name's Cherry. She's a Yu-Jin mouse."

I glance at Cherry, who looks faintly horrified.

"Do I look like a boy to you?" she wails. "Do I? Is it because I'm so ugly?"

I roll my eyes at her. She often throws temper tantrums like this. I've never known anyone to be such a drama queen.

"Awesome." says Ron. "I didn't know that mice could eat jelly beans."

"Cherry will eat anything." I inform them.

"So... what house do you think you'll be in?" Hermione asks.

"I'm not really sure." I say admittedly. "My family's been quite a mix. My mum's in Ravenclaw and my dad's in Hufflepuff. So is Cedric. My uncle is actually in Slytherin! What house are you all in?"

"We're all in Gryffindor." Harry said. "I wouldn't mind being in any house... except Slytherin."

"Is it true that you have to get sorted in front of the entire school?" I ask, wide eyed. "That's what Cedric told me!"

"Yeah..." Ron admits. "But all you have to do is put on the Sorting Hat. It can actually read your mind and basically see the contents of your soul!"

I shudder. This isn't something I really want to experience in front of a large crowd.

"So there's Gryffindor - For the brave people. Hufflepuff is for the awesome people! That's what Cedric told me."

Ron smirks but Hermione violently nudges him.

"What's Ravenclaw again?" I muse.

"That's for the intellectually advanced people." Hermione says primly.

Ron smirks again. "We've all been wondering why Hermione never got put in Ravenclaw. She's a complete brainiac!"

"Shut up, Ron." she mumbles, clearly embarrassed. I have a feeling that Hermione has a few feelings for this certain Weasley...

"Welcome! Ladies and Gentlemen." Fudge's voice fills the entire stadium, making my violently jump. Ouch. I think I can feel my eardrums bleeding. Cherry lets out a shriek of protest and drops the Peanutbutter and Jelly Flavoured Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean that she was eating. What a shame... it was her favourite kind.

"To the Quidditch World Cup!"

I cheer along with the rest of the crowd as the Irish's mascot, which resembles a giant Leprechaun, emerges. Suddenly... we are completely avalanched in gold. Wow... free money. Not bad.

Then the opposing team's mascot approaches. It looks as if the Bulgarians have chosen Veela for their mascot. Uh oh... That's not going to be very good for the men. I steal a glance towards George. He is completely mesmerized in the Veela's beauty. I know that Veela generally do have that effect on men but I can't deny that I feel a slight stab of pain whenever I see him looking at them like that. Well done, Hazel! You're starting to fall in love. Which will probably result in getting heart broken.

"The Bulgarians are going to win!" Cherry declares. I smirk at her bland simplicity.

"Are you insane? Of course they're not! The Irish team have Firebolts!" I breathe.

"But their Seeker will never be as talented as Viktor Krum." Cherry retorts.

"True." I admit. "But you don't have to catch the Snitch to win!"

Over the duration of the game, it's clear that the Irish are going to win. They're more than 150 points ahead of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian team are going to have to pull something pretty spectacular if they want to win.

Viktor Krum races towards the Snitch at breakneck speed. It's clear that his intentions are to catch the Snitch.

"What is he playing at?" Cherry wails in an ear piercing lament. "If he catches the Snitch, then we will lose!"

Suddenly, the Irish seeker, Aidan Lynch appears out of nowhere. He is good but admittedly, Krum is better.

They collide in a sickening way. Ouch. That must have hurt. It looks as if Krum's nose is broken. Despite being badly injured, Krum reaches out his hand to grab the snitch. Once he catches it, the whistle blows, signalling the end of the game.

"No!" Cherry sobs. "Why did he have to catch it now?"

"You remember our deal, I presume?" I ask her.

"Wha-" she stammers.

"If the Bulgarians won, then I promised to buy you a box of chocolate frogs. But if they lose, you have to give me your entire hoard of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."

"Fine..." she sobs, clearly too heartbroken to argue further.

As climb down the practically unending staircase, Ron starts warbling on about Viktor Krum in a continuous torrent.

"He's not a player... he's an artist!" he says with a dreamy expression on his face.

"That was a good match, wasn't it?" says George, gliding over. I feel my cheeks flush scarlet but I eventually manage to compose myself.

"Yeah. I don't really think Cherry really agrees though." I add. Cherry is hunched over on my hand, highly distraught at the notion of losing her entire supply of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. There's enough in there to keep her going until she's dead.

"How come?" he asks curiously.

"Let's just say that we made a bet..."

Once we arrive at our tents, George grins and gives me a quick hug.

"Goodnight, Hazel!" he laments, fortunately oblivious to my embarrassment.

George hugged me! He actually hugged me! Admittedly, it was more of a friendly hug but it's not like he hugged Hermione or even Ginny! In a complete happy daze, I settle on my bed with Cherry in deep content.


End file.
